Electromagnetic Theory (1912), Volume III; p. 1; "The Electrician" Pub. Co., London.
Context: The following story is true. There was a little boy, and his father said, “Do try to be like other people. Don’t frown.” And he tried and tried, but could not. So his father beat him with a strap; and then he was eaten up by lions.
Reader, if young, take warning by his sad life and death. For though it may be an honour to be different from other people, if Carlyle’s dictum about the 30 million be still true, yet other people do not like it. So, if you are different, you had better hide it, and pretend to be solemn and wooden-headed. Until you make your fortune. For most wooden-headed people worship money; and, really, I do not see what else they can do. In particular, if you are going to write a book, remember the wooden-headed. So be rigorous; that will cover a multitude of sins. And do not frown.
“Someone once said that every man is trying to live up to his father's expectations or make up for their father's mistakes….”
Source: The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
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Barack Obama 1158
44th President of the United States of America 1961Related quotes
Source: "The End of Reason" (1941), p. 41-42.
Source: Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court
“My father said that a silent person is trying to hide something.”
Source: Raven's Shadow
Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, volume 3, hadith number 338
Sunni Hadith